These are the cute little anklets for Elaine, in school uniform burgundy. (They really are darker, but it's a wretched flash picture...) It's not really ankle sock season, though, since it's been -15ºC or so for some days! But it's something off my master list, so that's nice to get them done.
I don't actually have pictures of most of the other knitting I've been doing, but I'll work on that. At least with the cold, it's been pretty sunny.
Last fall I was sort of out of sorts and didn't feel like explaining here, but now I will say my sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in May and passed away in October. She died a week before her 56th birthday, way too young, and it all happened so fast. So, that explains why my brother got a whole big sweater for Christmas! And why he and his sons spent Christmas here. And so on...
But, one continues on. Then early this month my sister phoned to say my mom had been taken to emergency, her heart wasn't working very well, they'd taken her back home and she wasn't expected to live through the night.
It's slightly churlish to complain about a 94-year-old dying in their own bed with their family around them, without pain and peacefully, but still, it's a shock and the end of something. Her obituary is here.
My brother, his son and I flew out to BC the next day, with the usual winter weather-related catastrophes: cancelled flights, closed highways, long drives...
Lots of relatives arrived over that weekend and we had a get-together to talk about her, we learned some stories about my dad's attempts at courtship and got caught up with people we don't often visit with. It's curious to me how many of the men in the family are really good at playing pool, for example.
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| We lived on a pig farm in the Cotswolds in 1965 |
It was really good to meet up with everyone; I'm sorry we didn't pack up the kids and all go, but I hope we can go to a future gathering.
I am looking forward to a calm and non-stressful few months, now, please.
Oh Mary - sending warm wishes your way. It doesn't matter, she is still your mom, and you'll miss her.
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